(Photos by Gwen Sour) From left, Steve Wainwright, Paul Jackson and Scott Hart share a laugh while preparing catfish for the Melvin Wainwright Wild Game Feed Saturday at Beverly American Legion Post 389.

BEVERLY — Beverly American Legion Post 389 hosted its annual Melvin Wainwright Wild Game Feed on Saturday evening, bringing community members together for a unique meal and a long-running fundraiser supporting veterans in Ohio.

The event featured a variety of wild game dishes along with sides and desserts. Entertainment was provided by Sam Clark and Friends, and the gathering was open to the public with donations accepted.

Doug Wainwright, chairman of the event committee and a veteran, said the feed has deep roots in the community and continues a tradition started by his father decades ago.

“We do this once a year,” Wainwright said. “The proceeds that we make off of this go to the veterans who are in hospitals. We donated 100% – whatever we make here goes to the veterans in the VA hospital.”

The event is named in memory of Wainwright’s father, Melving Wainwright, who helped establish the gathering.

(Photo by Gwen Sour) Attendees load their plates during the Melvin Wainwright Wild Game Feed Saturday.

“My dad started this back in the 60s,” Wainwright said. “It’s named after him since he passed away, but the old-timers were doing this clear back then and we just kinda carried it on.”

According to Wainwright, the food comes from local hunters and anglers who bring game from their freezers at the end of the hunting season. Among the offerings were rabbit, squirrel, beaver, bear, goose, duck, turkey, walleye, smallmouth bass, catfish and turtle.

“Everybody brings stuff in, and then we fix it up,” Wainwright said. “All the guys in the kitchen helped hunt – everybody in this local farming area hunts something or they fish.”

In addition to the wild game, attendees had side dishes such as salad, scalloped potatoes, green beans and many baked goods that were also donated for the fundraiser.

Wainwright said many people who try the dishes are surprised at how familiar the flavors can be when prepared properly.

“Wild game, in my opinion, it’s like anything else,” he said. “You can’t fix beef, chicken or pork without having to do something to it – same thing with wild game. I can take most of that stuff in there and make it and you’ll never know the difference.”

The annual dinner served as a community gathering and what volunteers called a way to give back to their veteran community.